Natural Disasters: What Equipment Do You Need?

Natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, hurricanes and massive storms are causing widespread damage to infrastructure and homes across the world. We look at some essential equipment that you will need to prepare in case such a disaster ever hits your town – to ensure you can survive comfortably and safety, and most importantly, help others to do the same.

Hurricane Sandy. The Brisbane, Queensland floods. The recent Illinois River floods. The list of natural disasters occuring over just the past several years is frighteningly long; and climate change experts are predicting it’s only going to get worse as the global weather system becomes more unpredictable and weather events become more frequent and more severe.

It’s virtually impossible to prevent these scenarios from happening, but you can start to prepare for natural disasters in case they hit your region. We look at some essential equipment and gadgets that will help you not only prepare, but survive and be as comfortable as possible during a massive weather event or natural disaster. We look at not just the obvious stuff like batteries, food and a radio, but more specialised equipment too that will help you stay safe and well equipped to help your family and those around you.

Jetboil Sol

This lifesaving device functions as an outdoor cooker/stove and is designed to provide ultimate heating and cooking performance under the most extreme conditions. It delivers heat output down to 20˚ F (-6˚ C) and is an essential piece of kit if you’re stuck in a natural disaster without power or gas. We chose this one because it’s extremely light, efficient on gas (thanks to well designed insulation) and has proven reliability.

12 Volt LED Light Strips

You’ll need a source of light when the power is out, and typical devices such as flashlights are extremely power inefficient during a time when you need to conserve power at all costs. LED light strips are very energy efficient compared to regular light sources and can be run directly off a 12 volt car battery. They provide a bright, clear light – easily enough for you to read or cook during a blackout.

Motorola 2-way radio

This one goes without saying. Communications during a disaster event are crucial, whether it’s to keep in touch with your loved ones who are surveying nearby damage or to keep track of each other if you’re in the wilderness. This Motorola walkie-talkie set is extremely rugged and sturdy, has a 23 mile range, a long battery life and high quality sound reproduction up to the maximum range.

SpareOne Emergency Mobile Phone

Modern smartphones are great, but not much use in a disaster situation given the battery life on them is a few days at most – less if you’re actually using it. This is not a worry with the SpareOne Emergency Mobile, the world’s only mobile phone that runs off only a single AA battery, with up to 10 hours of talk time off that single battery. It also operates even without a SIM card, allow you to call emergency services with just a single button press.

Space Survival Blanket

The legendary space blanket was first developed by NASA for the US Space Program, and is specially designed to be windproof, waterproof, and conserve heat like no other. If there’s no power and it’s cold and wet, as is likely during a severe storm event, these things are essential.

Leatherman Wingman Multi-Tool

A multi-tool is one of the most useful, cheap yet essential things you’ll need in a disaster situation. The Leatherman Wingman multi-tool is one of the best multi-tools we could find, holding nearly every survival tool you could think of including pliers, a knife, scissors, and multiple screwdrivers. The knife is serrated which means it can easily cut through rope and any other fibrous material, and the tools are easily manipulated with one hand making it ideal for tight situations.

Water Treatment Tablets

If a natural disaster is severe enough, your city’s water supply may be affected – or worse, shut down completely. In the Brisbane floods of 2011, the city’s water treatment plant was temporarily shut down, leading the town drinking water to accumulate algae and eventually, in some areas, it was rendered unsafe to drink directly from the tap. If your water supply is shut down completely, you might be forced to seek alternative sources of water such as from creeks and rivers. Obviously you can’t drink it directly from these untreated sources, but with water treatment tablets you can render unchlorinated water drinkable. They are cheap, and considering the potential life-saving impact they could have on you in the event of a disaster, it seems logical to always keep these in storage somewhere.

Emergency Toiletry Pack

It’s not something that everyone thinks of, but if you’re hit with a natural disaster and your water supply has stopped – you won’t be able to flush the toilet anymore. This can lead to uncomfortable and downright unhygienic situations to say the least. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep one of these around – an emergency toiletry pack which contains 6 portable toilet waste bags with Bio-Gel waste gelation so you can safely wait out the storm and do your business until your plumbing has returned to normal.

Portable Power Generator

The ultimate tool in an emergency situation, a portable power generator will allow you to keep some element of normalcy to your life while nature wreaks its havoc around you. This particular gas-powered model supplies 4,000 watts of power, which is more than enough to run your TV, radio, fridge, and most personal appliances so you can keep in touch with emergency services and keep your food supply safely stored.